Mars (WH40K)
Mars, also known as "The Red Planet," is the first and greatest Forge World of the Imperium of Man located in the Sol System of the Segmentum Solar, producing vast numbers of weapons, vehicles and other advanced technology for the Imperium and its war efforts throughout the galaxy. Mars is also the homeworld and headquarters of the Adeptus Mechanicus and a planet sacred to the faith of the Cult Mechanicus, which is one reason why travel to the Red Planet for Imperial personnel who are not members of the Mechanicus and share its peculiar faith is restricted. The Red Planet is the birthplace of the Cult Mechanicus, and is considered the holiest of all celestial orbs in the galaxy to the adherents of that faith. So vaunted is Mars that across the stars a hundred worlds have been terraformed and settled in exactly the same manner. Millennia of incessant construction have turned Mars into a smog-choked hellscape. The surface is covered with massive forge complexes, sprawling refineries, towering monuments to the glory of the machine and weapons shops that scrape the skies. The massive orbital conglomeration of thousands of drydocks and other starship manufacturing facilities in a geosynchronous orbit that turn above the Martian equator are known collectively as the Ring of Iron. It was the shipyards of the Ring of Iron that constructed the vast exploratory and Expeditionary Fleets of the Great Crusade in the late 30th Millennium and even today produce the majority of the Imperial Navy's capital ships. Spacecraft are constructed within the Ring's extensive orbital factories, and many of the ships of the Battlefleet Solar are based in its huge floating docks. The moon Deimos is absent from Mars' orbit, seconded to the Grey Knights of Titan in aeons long past. It is possible that Mars is also the world where the ancient and terrible C'tanknown as the Void Dragon has chosen to slumber the eons away. History Mars is the twin planet of Terra, and one of many long-inhabited human colony worlds located near the Cradle of Humanity. It is the homeworld and primary power centre of the Adeptus Mechanicus, the ancient and byzantine priesthood of the Machine God, and the heart of their galaxy-spanning monopoly on human science and technology. Following the Unification Wars in which the Emperor of Mankind defeated the techno-barbarians of Terra and reunited humanity's homeworld under a single government, He concluded the Treaty of Mars (known as the Treaty of Olympus within the Mechanicus) with the Cult Mechanicus to unify both Terra and Mars under the umbrella of the newborn Imperium of Man in the late 30th Millennium. The ancient Mechanicum government recognised the Emperor as the Omnissiah, the Machine God incarnate, and swore to lend their technology, the mighty war machines of their Titan Legions and all of their production facilities to the purpose of His Great Crusade to reunite all the scattered worlds of Mankind beneath the rule of the Imperium. In return, the Emperor promised the Mechanicum that it could maintain its political autonomy on Mars and all of its other Forge Worlds and that it would remain immune from adherence to the atheistic doctrine of the Imperial Truth. This ensured that the Adepts of the Mechanicum could still maintain their faith in the Machine God. Therefore, Mars is just as important to the Imperium's survival as Terra itself, a reality reflected in the emblem of the two-headed Imperial Aquila, one head for Terra, the other for the Red Planet. In ancient times, Mars had a fully terraformed atmosphere and ecosystems very similar to that of ancient Terra during the Dark Age of Technology, but the constant warfare of the Age of Strife and the later rapid industrialisation of the surface after the Mechanicum secured total control over the world destroyed Mars' manufactured oxygen-nitrogen atmosphere and restored the Red Planet's surface to its primordial desert state, absent surface water and breathable oxygen. The only inhabitable regions of the planet now are the Adeptus Mechanicus' hive cities. More than any other human-settled world, Mars possesses huge repositories of technical knowledge. Its immense libraries and databanks are highly eclectic and disorganised; one delving for secrets may find a crystal storage device containing vital genetor-level data tucked inside a scrollprint for militarised locomotives. The planet itself is a wilderness of polluted ochre desert broken by metropolises the size of tectonic plates. Here the rockcrete spires, marble arches and flying buttresses of a standard Imperial world are joined by corroded steel, iron ventilation chimneys and shining glass pipes. Extensive travel tubes pass above crackling tesla coils that power construction sites and ancient industrial wastes alike. Shining new buildings braced with riggings of steel contrast with shattered condensation traps and the ruins of millennial wars. The older districts are dotted with broken plasteel slabs and twisted girders, the occasional solitary tower pointing purposelessly toward the Martian sky. Mars is strictly stratified in its social order. The Red Planet is ruled over by the Adeptus Mechanicus' Fabricator-General, and he possesses almost every known piece of Standard Template Construct (STC) technology or designs currently in Imperial hands. This is ostensibly so he can construct better and more durable vehicles and technology for the Imperium, although it is fairly clear that the Mechanicus is simply hoarding them. The lowest social level consists of the citizens, mainly unaugmented human populations who labour en masse at simple tasks such as sorting isotope scrap, tending hydroponics, breaking ore, stoking forges and so on. Most citizens aspire to gain status by joining the Skitarii Legions. In the process, they will receive their first battle-grade bionics and perhaps a way of later entering the full priesthood of the Machine God. Lesser citizens may sport tattoos and piercings suggestive of such bionics, but dress in common work clothes -- filthy coveralls, rad-tabards or cabled environ-suits. Regardless of station, Martians have a tendency to be burly, saturnine and shaven-headed, usually with a temper to match their dour aspect. All sport electoos -- subcutaneous cyberware that ranges from code-patches through which personal data is monitored to thick veins of electric cabling. Through these electoo circuits can the glory of the Omnissiah be channelled. In times of great strife, the masters of Mars' populace can use these interfaces to turn even the most gormless hab-worker into a dauntless warrior of the Machine God. It is also rumoured that the most powerful of the C'tan, the Void Dragon, sleeps somewhere beneath the surface of Mars, in the Noctis Labyrinth, and its presence may be the reason why Necron starships briefly landed on the Red Planet in 997.M41. Should the Void Dragon awake, the very heart of the Imperium will tremble. Mars Military Forces Legiones Skitarii Mars' Skitarii Legion is the most glorious of all its kind. Its warriors consider it a great privilege to wear the ancient heraldry of the Red Planet, and are fiercely defensive of their Forge World despite its unchallenged position of power in the Cult Mechanicus. Perhaps because of the acquisitive nature of their masters, the red, silver and black of Mars' War Cohorts is a common sight in each Segmentumof the Imperium. Each Skitarius is but a single cog in a war machine that spans the entire Imperium. Controlled by the neurosync imperatives of their masters, the Skitarii are organised into War Cohorts capable of overcoming any foe. They work in glorious concert, every footstep or twitch of the trigger finger optimised to further the cause of the Cult Mechanicus. The original maniples that crossed the desert reaches of Mars on foot were armed only with Galvanic Rifles. They escorted their masters from north to south across an equatorial belt infested with cannibal Servitors and rogue machine intelligences. As the centuries marched past, these escorts were refined over and over again until they evolved into the Battle Maniples of the late 41st Millennium. Many variants have been codified, from the Maniples Automata of the ''Legio Cybernetica''to the teeming Auxilia Ordinatus, but the core fighting formation remains the War Cohort. Like its fellow Forge Worlds, Mar's Skitarii Legion is divided into a number of macroclades, which are in turn broken down into cohorts and maniples. The vast majority of Skitarii War Cohorts are not borne into battle by armoured machines or aircraft, but simply stride to the front line without stopping, even should they have to start the journey solar months in advance of their allies. They will wade through poisonous swamps and bubbling lakes of tar to arrive at the front line on schedule, rank upon rank of Skitarii marching around chains of Onager Dunecrawlers in imitation of Mars' nomadic caravanserais. Their tireless pace echoes the constancy of their dutiful souls -- it is said that a Skitarius would rather walk himself to death than disobey a direct imperative. Forge World Dogma Glory to the Omnissiah In all the Cult Mechanicus, there are no Forge Worlds more holy or more blessed than Mars. The favour of the Machine God can be seen in the powerful optimisation granted by every static-ridden psalm incanted by his most faithful followers. Mars Forces Appearance Mars Iconography The holy cog-and-skull of Mars, the Cog Mechanicum, graces many Martian Skitarii warriors and vehicles, a reminder that all must play their part in the greater war machine of the Adeptus Mechanicus. Mars Forge World Colors Like other Forge Worlds, Mars maintains its own Skitarii forces to protect its interests, annihilate the enemies of the Tech-priests, and fight at the vanguard of the Quest for Knowledge. The Skitarii cohorts of Mars wrap themselves in flapping crimson robes which are reminiscent of the rolling toxic deserts of their homeworld. Long ago, this was doubtless a means of camouflage among the ruddy landscapes of the Martian wilderness, but it has since become a symbol of the might of the Adeptus Mechanicus across the length and breadth of the Imperium. Adorning the hems of these crimson robes and the sculpted chest plates of the Skitarii are ancient symbols and icons, each one heavy with meaning sacred to the Cult of the Machine God. The white toothed iconography which rings the hoods, sleeves and hems of their robes is reminiscent of the teeth of a cog, a symbol of great significance to the Tech-priests of the Cult Mechanicus. This pledges their allegiance to the Machine God, and is thus important to all his servants. Skitarii Vanguard and Skitarii Rangers alike wear combat robes emblazoned with the icon of their Forge World. Skitarii infantry usually have their squad number emblazoned upon the hem of their robes for easy identification, while Sicarian Princeps and Skitarii Alphas bear their unit's maniple sigil, and sometimes a skull marking their status as overseers. Lower-ranked Sicarians often bear no markings other than the colours of Mars. Some specialist units, such as Sicarian Ruststalkers and Infiltrators, may wear a number on their helm or chestplate. The armour plates of Skitarii vehicles are the same hue as those worn by the Legion's Sicarians. The Tech-priests Dominus of Mars may wear variants of their Forge World's heraldry, but always incorporate the dull silver of industrial sprawl, the matte black of scorched carbon residue, and the deep red of the Martian sunrise. The Electro-priests of Mars wear robes the deep red of their home planet, in keeping with the traditions of the Cult Mechanicus. Congregations may be distinguished by different decorative metals or markings upon their robes. Each Kastelan-class Robot is a totem of the Omnissiah's might and so is accorded a unique recognition symbol, commonly borne upon the knee and shoulder. Maniple sigils may also be applied to robots and the armour of their attendant Legio Cybernetica Datasmiths. Category:Warhammer Planets Category:Warhammer Category:Planets